The Scarlet Coat

The Scarlet Coat is an Eastmancolor 1955 American historical drama and swashbuckler directed by John Sturges, based upon the events in the American Revolution in which Benedict Arnold offered to surrender the fort at West Point to the British in exchange for money. The film purports to tell the story of the creation of the "American Secret Service", and weaves a spy/counterspy tale in which British and American counterparts, played by Michael Wilding as Major John Andre and Cornel Wilde, as John Bolton, unaware that each is attempting to outsmart the other for the sake of their countries,... deal with issues of honour, loyalty, and friendship. There is also some rivalry between the men for the love of a fictional beautiful woman . Though, in real life, Major Andre and Major Benjamin Tallmadge, the model for Bolton, did meet shortly before Andre was to be hanged as a spy and did develop a kind of friendship, it was not the longer-term and deeper friendship suggested in the film. Bolton betrays this friendship in the film, But Karl Tunberg's script tries to overcome that difficulty by having Bolton make attempts to save Andre's life.
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